Playmates Toxic Crusaders

Despite its very short-run run and that it was based off a series of very grotesque live-action films, Toxic Crusaders managed to receive a whole toyline by Playmates, though much bolder plans for a second series had to be decontaminated after the toyline was cancelled.

Summary[]

The Toxic Crusaders was a 1991 animated series loosely based on The Toxic Avenger films by Troma. It featured the main character, Toxie, who leads a group of misfit superheroes that combated pollution as it was following the trend of environmentally considerate cartoons/comics laid out by Captain Planet and Swamp Thing at the time; along with cartoons based on R-rated properties like RoboCop and Police Academy. While tamer than the original Troma films, Toxic Crusaders had a conssiderable amount of adult-oriented jokes and before officially debuting on January 21st 1990, a few episodes aired as a "trial run" in the summer of 1990. In Canada, it aired on YTV from 1991 to 1997 while the US cable network aired the first two episodes on July 25th 2009. ^[1]

Toyline[]

Considering the show was a sort-of cash-in on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it only makes sense that Playmates produced a toyline for Toxic Crusaders with action figures for each good and evil team; sculpted by Varner Studios. Representing the Crusaders were Toxie and his pet Blobbie, who also had a 10" version of himself produced; No-Zone, a pilot who crashed into a silo of radioactive pepper with slime that could be stored in his large "snoz;" Major Disaster, who has the ability to control plants and represents the brawns; Headbanger, the fusion of mad scientist Dr. Bender and radical surfer Fender who are usually at odds with each other; and Junkyard, a mutant that was the result of a homeless man and yard dog becoming fused together. Representing the villains were Dr. Killemoff, one of the primary antagonists and a Smogulan native who wears a breathing apparatus to navigate "non-polluted worlds;" Psycho, the obese bio-mechanical right-hand man to Killemoff who could predict the downfall of his plans; Bonehead, a bullying Earth punk who laughed at Melvin's tutu incident and was later mutated into a skeletal-being during an altercation with him; and the Radiation Rangers, the foot-soldiers of Killemoff who wore hazmat suits and were basiaclly produced as an "army-builder." Many playset vehicles were also produced for the series which include tohe Apocalypse AttackCopter for Killemoff, the Smogcycle for Bonehead, and each made for Toxie were the Crusader Skater, the Hideous Hovercraft, and the Toxic Turf Surfer. The last two were made from repurposed molds for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vehicles with the latter being an unreleased item. Its worth noting that in some countries, the Toxic Crusader figures were not marketed by Playmates, but rather Bandai and Yapon Toys. ^[2] ^[3] Interstingly, the original figure of Toxie was sculpted without a bandana and had a smiling expression, though at the last minute, Playmates changed the prototype to include it. ^[4]

Series 2[]

Playmates had plans for a second series of Toxic Crusader action figures that would've featured even more good guys and bad guys along with new variants of Toxie. Located in the tabber below are their images and each piece of information I could find about them:

This prototype of Toxie wearing a ripped shirt with the Star-Spangled Banner on it was to have been part of a mail-away set that could be ordered if Series 2 ever came out. Two mock-ups were made and this version has a headband that matches up with the American flag's colours.

The second prototype of the mail-away Toxie, this version has a red headband with white-black stripes around the ribbon.

During development of Series 2, the toy designers at Playmates toyed with ideas for future projects that included the patriotic mail-in figures. This right here was a wind-up figure of Toxie that, when activated, would spin his broom-wielding left arm in a manner similar to Michelangelo from the "Wacky Action" line.

This is the prototype for Czar Zosta, a small bug-like Smogulan who is one of the primary antagonists and the boss of Dr. Killemoff.

This is the prototype for Max Grody, the corrupt Mayor of Tromaville who is secretly working for the Smogulans and was based off Mayor Peter Belgoody from the original 1984 movie.

Teased in the toy catalogs, this is the prototype for Pollyto, a living oil slick monster that was created by Dr. Killemoff. It would've been produced at 10" tall and as the most expensive product of the toyline with a rotating head and motorized walking action.

This is the prototype for General GarBage, a Smogulan general who first appeared in "Invasion of the Biddy Snatchers" where he replaced Killemoff and infected the elderly citizens of Tromaville.

This prototype was made for the action figure of Mrs. Junko, Toxie's mother who would speak in a Bronx accent.

This is the prototype for Snail Man, a one-time character who helped the Toxic Crusaders and was originally a race car driver named Crash Shelby who ended up merging with snails.

Even though it does no resemble his appearance in the show, this is the prototype for Mower Man, a one-time character who aided the villains in a plot involving the Weed Monsters and was once a gardineer who got fused with gardeningequipment after an explosion.

Its unknown what the exact name of this playset is, what part of the show it was based on nor who it would've been attributed to, though this beat up old-fashioned car appears to be the only vehicle that was known to have been built for Series 2 and appears to be a recycled version of the Police Squad Car that was originally made for Playmates' Dick Tracy line.

^[5] ^[6]

One of the more mysterious figures made during development on Playmates' Toxic Crusaders IP is the prototype of a clown who never even appeared on the show as any sort of character; supporting or one-shot. Some speculate that it was the original design for Bonehead while others believe it was never even considered for Toxic Crusaders since it was sculpted from wax. ^[7]

Final Verdict[]

Series 2 of Playmates' Toxic Crusaders was never released and a lot of it has to do with the show not getting renewed for another season and how expensive it was to make the toys. Most of the painted prototypes shown in toy catalogs were never seen again, though a majority of the master copy prototypes for Series 2 characters are still in the collection of Geeks Antiques and Varner Studios. YouTuber Caleb's Collecting Corner owns the one that was made for Czar Zosta and posted a review of it to his channel. In April 2020, Swedish based toy collector & maker Teknodromentoys announced they would be producing several replicas of the original Polluto prototype and in September that year, 25 of the limited edition figures were released in packaging with original artwork; two reviews of it are currently available on YouTube. ^[8] As for the clown prototype, with the character never appearing any episode of Toxic Crusaders and insiders being split on the alibi of its development, it remains a bit of a mystery as: EXISTENCE UNCONFIRMED.

As for the rest of this case, while still open, we can safely: PARTIALLY FOUND.